Making Room for Her: A Study of the Most Famous In-Law RelationshipSýnishorn

DAY 2

The best-known mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship in the Bible is that of Naomi and Ruth. In this familiar Old Testament story, we meet an Israelite family desperate to survive. Famine ravages Bethlehem, their home. Hunger has driven them to Moab, the land of Israel’s ancient enemy. After the family’s father dies, the sons violate God’s law and marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Then the sons die, leaving Naomi—the mother—and her daughters-in-law with nothing.

For Naomi, Moab now holds only heartache. But in the midst of despair we see God’s redeeming grace. Naomi’s life has gone all wrong. Yet through all her trials God has kept her faith in him alive. With news of the famine’s end in Bethlehem, Naomi decides to return home. Thinking her future holds no hope, Naomi sadly tells Ruth and Orpah her plan. She assumes that going with her isn’t in their best interest. Naomi meant well, but she missed what God was doing! God had given her Ruth, a daughter-in-law who loved her. And God would use their relationship to do more than either woman could imagine.

Naomi declares her name has changed to Mara—the Hebrew word for bitter! Naomi so lamented her tragic life that she changed her name to Bitter. “Naomi” means pleasant. But now Naomi’s whole identity had changed. How could her life possibly be pleasant ever again? She thought her daughters-in-law should get as far away as possible for their own good.

Perhaps you, too, feel the burden of wrong decisions or unexpected suffering. For whatever reason, does it now seem that the LORD’s hand has turned against you? Looking back, maybe you see how your choices disrupted your family: different jobs, different cities, new schools, different churches.

Or maybe your choices were on the path of wisdom, and you thought you were safe, but then a massive, unwelcome curve ball came and knocked the whole family off course. Goodbye nice, normal, stable family. Hello, chaos.

Perhaps the dreams for your son (or daughter) to find a nice Christian spouse have evaporated. Maybe the two of them are now married, and you wonder, does this new spouse even belong to Jesus? All you can see is the brokenness. Will this new addition to the family draw your child away from the Lord?

Naomi’s life can encourage us. Her family had experienced so much harm. Some of this was due to bad decisions. And some was due to great loss that Naomi couldn’t have seen coming—things she didn’t cause. In every way, “pleasant” did not describe her life. Things looked hopeless. Whatever part she played in this tragedy; God never abandoned Naomi. Even in the painful loss of her loved ones, God was graciously making himself known. When he called her back to Bethlehem, he was calling her back to himself.

For reflection:

• How do these truths from Ruthimpact your thoughts and actions toward your in-law who is different from you?
• Whatever your in-law’s situation, God offers you an opportunity to trust him. Will you ask God for faith to trust him?